OSHA has placed increased emphasis on safety standards for arc-flash incidents since 2007. But plenty of companies are also still catching up on the topic as well, says David Casavant, executive director for the Sustainable Workplace Alliance, a non-profit organization in Orlando, Fla., which provides health, safety and compliance consulting to U.S. companies. OSHA's arc-flash enforcement priorities include establishing hazard-analysis programs, providing flame-resistant clothing for front-line technicians, and labeling electrical panels properly.

"One thing I do see in audits for companies — a lot of folks don't have an arc-flash program in place, or there is no protection for workers, and it's sad to see," Casavant says.

While technicians are vulnerable to arc-flash hazards, many managers say they have never heard of them, Casavant says, adding that the dangers are real.

"When your maintenance guy is working in front of a panel and that energy doesn't dissipate 360 degrees, it comes straight out of the wall," he says. "That wall deflects or forces everything into the chest of a maintenance worker, which is dangerous."